Seriously though. I think we all can identify with the eating thing - there's that empty feeling (which is mistaken for hunger), but it doesn't matter how much you eat it doesn't go away. In our situations we develop a strategy to cope with it, usually exercise.

[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/w4Q56PK/][/url]

End of March - 119kg - 118.7 - made it!End of April - 115kgEnd of May - 111kgEnd of June - 107kg End of July - 103kg End of August - 99kg End of September - 95kgEnd of October - 91kgEnd of year - 81kg TARGET WEIGHT - Optimistic

ok, today and yesterday not so good - 2 nights eating out in a row. yesterday was dumplings and fried shallot pancake and tonight was moroccan. I tried to offset some of it by reducing my consumption during today, but I think I'll also have to be extra conscientious tomorrow as well to balance things out.

today:

2 slices pumpkin toast with tahini and jamcoffee with soy and honey

orange

banana

50 minute brisk walk

small bowl vegie bolognese with wholemeal pasta

dinner out: various moroccan vegie dishes that included a fair bit of oil and butter and white rice... but soooo yummy

however, I did go to the movies after dinner and didn't have any snacks - only a bottle of plain mineral water. Probably a good plan to eat dinner right before the movies, so you're less tempted to eat during it.

well, I've kind of lost some of my motivation... getting a bit over it all I think. My emotional eating has been worse this past week, with 4 nights eating dinner out, and therefore too much fat/white carbs. It's kind of ironic that my emotional eating habit to focus on this week was "bouncing back" - ha! It's been the worst week for that in the past 2 months! And not just because I was supposed to be doing it, kind of coincided with a growing discontent. I guess it shows that even when we have moments, even weeks, or successions of weeks when we feel like we're totally on top of it, things can still drag us down, even when we don't realise it. It's been a hard week for really understanding why food has such a hold on me... my conscious mind totally knows, but my sub-conscious is way stronger...

feeling better about things today, I've nutted out a really key aspect of my emotional eating - I do it to feel nurtured. If I'm fed up with something, frustrated, feel defeated or something like that, food is the most tempting option to make me feel better. It's also strongly tied to my sense of enjoyment - if I want to have a lazy night in, and enjoy some free time, food seems to be central to the way I enjoy such time. Good to realise those important circumstances in which I lose control. Just have to implement the alternative strategies and thought/action processes.

oh, and I jumped on the scales today - 76.8!! So all that indulgent restaurant food last week didn't do too much damage, thankfully!

And, one of my goals for losing weight was to be able to go shopping and at least fit into regular size 14 pants again - I went shopping last night and bought a pair of size 14 shorts for summer - yay me

Having that ability to self-analyze is a valuable skill, that, provided it doesn't become destructive, can really enrich ones life. An awareness of one's unconscious motives for behaviour gives one the opportunity to develop strategies to thwart them.

Perhaps you could post a photo when you fit into the size14's. Go Kirsty!

[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/w4Q56PK/][/url]

End of March - 119kg - 118.7 - made it!End of April - 115kgEnd of May - 111kgEnd of June - 107kg End of July - 103kg End of August - 99kg End of September - 95kgEnd of October - 91kgEnd of year - 81kg TARGET WEIGHT - Optimistic

Just goes to show how well I read your post - you said you do fit the 14's

cheersBren

[url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/w4Q56PK/][/url]

End of March - 119kg - 118.7 - made it!End of April - 115kgEnd of May - 111kgEnd of June - 107kg End of July - 103kg End of August - 99kg End of September - 95kgEnd of October - 91kgEnd of year - 81kg TARGET WEIGHT - Optimistic

last 2 days haven't been great - social occasions where there were just too many sugary, fatty foods on offer! Last night was a friend's birthday, designed to be a deliberately bountiful array of cake and sweets, and today a family affair with cheesy pastries and mud cake! Dear me. I didn't eat to the point of over-fullness, but I did eat. So I won't list the indulgences, just admit that the weekend was a little bit off the rails, and I'll try to repent this week!

I've been on quite a journey the last couple of months, part of it was AWOL, but a lot of it had to do with re-evaluating my approach, and finally getting to the bottom of my emotional eating issues. It has been really interesting, and life-changing! It's the kind of thing you have to be ready for, but I do believe that it is the one aspect that keeps us all on the diet merry-go-round, and until you delve deep enough, it's really hard to get off. It's changed my relationship with food to the point that in the last few days, I've even been experimenting with raw food dishes and loving it! Because now it's about how I can nourish my body, and feel most alive and healthy, rather than an eternal battle between "good" and "bad" - because the bad only happens when I have some kind of unfulfilled need, or I am grasping around for something to help me feel safe, protected or nurtured. I really do recommend Shrink Yourself (online therapy program) for anyone interested in going on this journey.

The thing is, I haven't really lost that much since November - I'm at 75.3 as of today. But factor in my birthday, Christmas and New Year all within 2 weeks of each other, and you can see why! But now that my interest in raw foods has been sparked, and I feel on top of my emotional eating, I can feel that it is going to start moving again. I'm not doing anything extreme like going 100% raw, but even adding in one or two raw meals and/or snacks a day, I feel a lot more healthy.

I've been focusing on maintaining Yoga and Pilates over the holidays, with about 3 weeks in total of break from the gym, but having had some nice big walks scattered in there. I feel good about settling on these forms of exercise, because they have more than just pure fitness benefits, and the practise gets deeper as you go (especially Yoga), so it feels more fulfilling somehow. That's just what works for me, anyhow.